Hi! I’m Sarah Jefford, an IVF Mum, egg donor, surrogate and family and surrogacy lawyer.
Welcome to the Surrogacy and Donor Conception Blog, with posts about surrogacy, donor conception, laws, news items, and my personal experiences as a donor and surrogate. You can scroll through the posts, search by category or keyword below.
Surrogacy and Social Media
Surrogacy and Social Media You might be surprised to discover that something as simple as social media can cause a rift in surrogacy teams, particularly if the expectations and rules are not established early on. Many intended parents [...]
Surrogate Bodily Autonomy
Surrogate Bodily Autonomy. What exactly do we mean when we talk about the surrogate having bodily autonomy? A surrogate is just like any other person, and can make decisions about her body just as any other person can. [...]
Importing and Exporting Embryos
Importing and Exporting Embryos and Gametes If you are considering surrogacy and fertility treatment options in Australia and overseas, you need to consider where the embryo creation will take place and whether that will have an impact on [...]
Surrogacy Information for Healthcare Providers
Surrogacy Information for Healthcare Providers If you are an intended parent or future surrogate and need to visit your healthcare provider to talk about surrogacy, you may find that they have not dealt with many surrogacy cases in [...]
Supporting Your Surrogate and Family
Supporting Your Surrogate and Family Intended parents carry the pressure of wanting to be appreciative, supportive and caring for their surrogate and her family, and not wanting to be intrusive or overbearing. With that in mind, there are [...]
Will the Surrogate Ask For Money?
Will the surrogate ask for money? We know that surrogacy is altruistic in Australia. That means that payment of any type, or a reward or material benefit, is illegal. That includes cash payments as well as large gifts [...]
Lawyer’s Weekly Women in Law Awards 2019
I am beyond proud and excited to be named as a finalist in the Lawyer's Weekly Women in Law Awards, for both Thought Leader of the Year and Sole Practitioner of the Year for 2019. I am humbled [...]
Care Package Ideas for Surrogates and Egg Donors
Care Package Ideas for Surrogates and Egg Donors During a recent egg donation cycle, my lovely friend and recipient gave me an enormous box labelled 'Sarah's Donor Cycle Care Package.' Thinking it was probably a box of chocolates [...]
Sperm Donor Agreements
Sperm Donor Agreements Are you considering growing your family with the help of a sperm donor? There are a number of options, and it is important to obtain legal advice about the implications, your rights and responsibilities and [...]
Surrogacy, Medicare and Centrelink
Surrogacy, Medicare and Centrelink Big questions for birth parents and intended parents - who is eligible for Centrelink's Paid Parental Leave, and will the parents be able to access Medicare benefits for the baby? As with all things [...]
Birth Certificates and Surrogacy: Recognition or Erasure?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about birth certificates, and donor conception and surrogacy, after attending the AFCC Conference in Sydney and listening to many donor-conceived people speak about their experiences and identity. What is a birth certificate? [...]
Single Parent Surrogacy
Single Parent Surrogacy Are you a single intended parent considering surrogacy to grow your family? The good news is that mostly, there are no barriers to single intended parents entering into a surrogacy arrangement in Australia or overseas. [...]
Will the Surrogate Keep the Baby?
One of the first questions asked by intended parents considering surrogacy in Australia is "What if she wants to keep the baby?" And one of the first questions asked by a surrogate and her partner is "What if [...]
Egg Donor Agreements
Egg Donor Agreement Are you considering growing your family with the help of an egg donor and thinking of having an agreement between you? Many families grow with the help of an egg donor, whether it's a clinic-recruited [...]
Best Practice Surrogacy
Surrogacy has been a headline again this week, with Foreign Correspondent covering surrogacy in the Ukraine. Unfortunately, rarely when it is a headline is it a positive story, and my heart broke for the women, babies and intended [...]
Surrogacy Pregnancy and Birth Planning Package
Surrogacy Pregnancy and Birth Package If you and your team are planning a surrogacy birth, you will be keen to make sure your healthcare provider is sensitive and responsive to the dynamics and needs of your team. Whilst [...]
Surrogacy as a Gay Dad
Pursuing surrogacy as a gay dad. Are you considering surrogacy as a single or partnered gay dad? Gay dads are growing in numbers around Australia as they pursue surrogacy to grow their families. The media is buzzing with [...]
One Year On
One Year On - January 2019 Surro-baby, Darcey, turned one last weekend. Her dads threw her a party, of course, and like all first birthdays, it was more of an anniversary for the parents than it was a [...]
Surrogacy as Motherhood: The Inalienable Right to Choose
I spoke at the Melbourne Law School's Health Law and Ethics Network seminar this week, on the subject of surrogacy and ethics. Below is my speech. Thank you for having me and giving me the opportunity to speak [...]
Surrogacy Australia
Surrogacy arrangements in Australia are regulated in each State, which means there are no uniform laws that cover surrogacy across the country. Surrogacy laws in all Australian States and the ACT follow the same basic principles: The Intended [...]
South Australia Surrogacy Law Reform Update
Surrogacy South Australia - Law Reform Update, November 2019 South Australia has reviewed its surrogacy laws and now enacted the Surrogacy Act 2019. This is the first time that South Australia will have stand-alone surrogacy legislation, and there [...]